USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Tewksbury > Town of Tewksbury annual report 1933-1938 > Part 35
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Since the principal of the High School submits a full report on the activities of his school, I shall occupy little space in elaborating on these activities. I am happy to say that the academic activities in the school are being carried on earnestly and efficiently by a splendid corps of teachers under capable and inspiring leadership.
The community should and does take pride in this school. It is a credit to the town and a most definite asset. It is fulfilling the hopes and predictions of those whose vision give this school its inception. It has become so much a part of the community that it seems impossible that it is only in its third year of existence.
Physical surrondings have been continually improved so as to in- crease the comfort and convenience of the building. Not the least important improvement is that contributed by some of the students themselves in the form of a decorative art project for the walls of the cafeteria which was done under the direction of Miss Rosatto the Art Supervisor. It is amazing what was produced from inexpensive ma- terials at a very small cost to the School Department. Taken together with the bright colored, sturdy tables turned out by the manual train- ing department, and the very practical serving tables secured by Mr. Wiley's assistance, this room is a very attractive place for the students to spend the lunch period. Such surroundings should be conducive to better health habits and more genteel table manners. It is certainly a pleasant place to lunch even when filled to capacity with pupils.
A decided improvement from the administrative standpoint is the division of the large study hall into two rooms for use of the Commercial Department and the use of a smaller and better proportioned room for study-hall purposes. The modern organization of a school on the basis of homerooms renders unnecessary the large study hall of olden times.
A similar division of the manual training department into two sec- tions by a partition seems like a good move. The glass partition makes it practical for the teacher to supervise or at least oversee one section
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while teaching in the other. This arrangement gives a drafting room of comparative quiet and cleanliness.
The program in physical education, or at least in sports, is very well developed for the boys of the High School, but for the girls there is little of a truly competitive nature but basketball. I would suggest that field hockey be given a trial as an organized outdoor sport for girls. It is a popular game among young women and is supported on a varsity basis by many of the larger towns near Boston. It is an extremely fast game and has a strong appeal for girls of the high school age.
The development of the athletic field under government aid should prove a great asset to the physical program in the school. It is to be hoped that its use will not be confined to the limited numbers repre- senting the so called "varsity squads." It should also be the scene of intra-mural games and inter-class contests. We should make the pro- gram reach more pupils than the so called TEAMS. While believing in inter-school competition, I do not feel that we give adequate consid- erations to the physical good of all of the pupils. There is a natural ten- dency to make the program subservient to the teams representing the schools.
In view of the excellent use that the school has already made of a borrowed moving picture projector, I believe the Committee would be justified in providing a good sound picture projector for use of the various departments. It has already demonstrated its value as used by Mr. Dunnan in his science classes. It could be of great value in the English, French, Commercial and Social Science departments, as well as in Art, Music and Dramatics.
OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Under substantially the same leadership and similar conditions as have been in vogue for the last few years, the elementary schools have gone along in a steady wholesome manner. No startling innova- tions have been tried. Our endeavor all along the line has been to pre- pare each grade to do successfully and with satisfaction to the pupils, the work of the succeeding year. At the same time we have endeavored to encourage all in the ways of right, safe and healthful living. How well we have succeeded, time alone will tell, especially as to the ele- ments last mentioned. It is safe to say however that our success will be in proportion to the help or hindrance given by the rest of society during the hours spent outside of the schoolrooms.
These outside influences should not be underestimated in judging the success or failure of our schools. It should always be remembered that human psychology is working against rather for the schools. We
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should recall the seeming failure of prohibition because of its compul- sory nature. We have added to this the factor that public education is called FREE. In these two ways education is made subtly undesirable. We humans do not value the free gifts nearly as much as we do the for- bidden fruits or those for which we have to struggle and pay. Add the element of compulsion to the acceptance of these free gifts and there appears a combination not easy to defeat. The recognition of these two forces is found in the following proverbs:
"You never miss the water 'til the well runs dry."
and, "You may lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
Both are accepted universally as truths, but in the public school we are expected to nullify them both, while we confine animal spirits with- in four walls, under very artificial conditions. We confine active young- sters in seats spaced just so far apart. We keep them in a condition of more or less suspended animation for periods far in excess of any we can enforce on one or two children in the home. We force upon them a diet for which they have little natural inclination. We have to penalize them when they are acting naturally. In short, we are going against nature in nearly every way. But these things are done of necessity be- cause of the very way in which our schools are organized.
This plan of organization also seems to be a necessity. If we are to have mass production education we have to use the methods of mass production. The size of classes alone is one of the most compelling fac- tors in this necessity. If in classes of from thirty to nearly fifty pupils, we are to make even a start in arousing the interest necessary to suc- cessful presentation of material which is to be learned, we must have a group condition which makes it possible to secure attention. This means a group seated in such a manner that the teacher can determine whether she has that attention, and in a condition of order and quiet such that she can be heard. This is what is commonly called discipline. The teacher must secure all of this condition of disciplined order before she can begin to do her real task assigned to her i. e. to get them to learn something for which they feel no pressing need, especially in the earlier years of school life.
In addition to teaching facts and skills there is the task of inculcat- ing qualities of spirit which are daily exemplified as vain and useless by the conduct of the world about them. The teacher is obliged to do this teaching in such a way that it seems incidental to something else; thus avoiding the appearance of preaching. This means hours of thoughtful preparation of lesson plans. That "honesty is the best policy" cannot be taught as convincingly by preaching as it can by numerous examples that dishonesty does not pay.
It is difficult to teach habits of truthfulness when the world uses
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truth as a fine ideal for the other fellow and a convenience for home consumption; when business agreements and even international treat- ies are but "scraps of paper", and the oath of office of so many public officials is treated as a matter of form, a "horse and buggy" conven- tionality to be observed when it is good policy to do so or disregard if it is a question of losing a vote.
Good health habits and ways of right living are a part of the work of the schools. This work is often made useless by the attitude of the home. The life of a school nurse can be made miserable by the resent- ment shown when cleanliness and decency of person are insisted upon. An attempt to supervise or advise upon the type of school lunches can bring down wrath from some homes, where it is considered meddling.
SCHOOL HEALTH PROGRAM
The health program in the local schools has had a marked improve- ment during the last half of the year. Many things are now being done in a systematic manner which we used to do now and then or not at all.
The school nurse has enlisted various members of the school or- ganization in her health army and with their co-operation has already secured better facilities for first aid than had been in existence before. Now materials are in one convenient place instead of where last used.
The regular routine work and the usual clinics are carried on in a very efficient manner, with records now kept on standard cards recom- mended and provided by the Commonwealth. These, together with the duplicate life cards now in use, give us a permanent record of the school life of each child from the angles of health and school accom- plishment.
As the report of the school nurse will probably show there is a very definite advancement toward the offering of hot dishes as an ad- junct to school lunches in the various schools. This is her own accom- plishment and she deserves great credit for the work devoted to it. In fact the general improvement in all of the health work in the schools should be credited to this official.
TEACHING PERSONNEL
The turnover in the teaching corps was not very great during the year. The most difficult situation was in the English department in the High School. Following the resignation of Miss Mills who became Mrs. Theberge, Mr. Edward Manning was elected to this position. Mr. Manning was enticed away by a substantial increase in salary offered by Barnstable High School and Mrs. Theberge was secured as a sub-
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stitute for the balance of the year which ended in June. In September, Mr. Francis Maria of Lowell was placed in charge of the English de- partment. Mr. Maria is also acting as Coach of basketball. In Septem- ber a new teacher was added to the staff because of the increase in high school enrollment. Mr. Lawrence McGowan was secured for this position which involved in addition to the teaching load, assistance in the program of physical education. Mr. McGowan was of great assist- ance to Mr. Dunnan in producing a very capable and successful football team. In the Spring Mr. McGowan will assume direction of baseball. These two new men on the faculty have reduced materially the heavy load which Mr. Dunnan has borne for the past two years.
In the Foster School Miss Doris Roberts, a local girl, was elected to assist the principal. She succeeded Miss Allen who occupied a similar position until last June.
Two days before the opening of school Miss Elizabeth Giles resign- ed to take a position in Scituate. Miss Pauline Sullivan of Lawrence was elected to the position but she resigned at the Thanksgiving recess and Miss Ruth Hoar of Lowell is acting as a substitute teacher pending the election of a permanent incumbent to this seventh grade position.
In the Shawsheen School the resignation of Miss Ruth Kelly, the principal, resulted in the election of Miss Alberta Ringer of Lowell to the position in grades seven and eight. Miss Catherine Sullivan, teacher of grade six, was made principal of this building.
At the close of the fiscal year the resignation of Miss Marion Adams, the music supervisor, was received. Miss Adams has been elect- ed to a similar position in Chelmsford. Her successor has not yet been selected.
ENROLLMENT FACTS
There is still a gradual increase in the total enrollment in the local schools. To be exact there were twenty pupils more on October 1, 1937, than on the same date in 1936. It is interesting to note however that in the same period the high school enrollment increased by twenty- five. This was of course due to the large entering class as compared to the number who were graduated in June. It would seem that the ele- mentary grades have suffered a very slight loss, and yet there were seventeen more entering school in the first grades in September than in 1936. This shows that there is some shifting in population from year to year.
There are in the high school at present 228 pupils which is about the capacity load for the building. It is possible that we lose 41 of these in June. If the 58 in the eighth grade were all entering high school in the Fall there would be an enrollment of 245, a net increase of 17. It is probable that in September 1938, this building will be called upon to
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accommodate 240 pupils at least. This can probably be done success- fully but in the following year if the 85 now enrolled in grade seven were to try to take the places of the Junior class of 52, I fear the build- ing will begin to bulge. After 1939 however, the classes as now enrolled drop down remarkably so that the number in the Freshman class of the next four years would not exceed 65.
A simple tabulation may make this clearer.
Year
Entering
Graduating
Enrollnient
1937
41
2.28
1938
59
52
246
1939
85
60
279
1940
65
75
283
1941
56
59
264
1942
65
85
270
1943
64
65
249
1945
58
56
256
1946
71
65
270
It would seem from a study of the above figures that with the class- es actually now in school, if they stay the same in number, that for the next eight years there will be anywhere from 250 to 280 enrolled in a building planned for about 200. From this study it would seem wise to plan for at least a two room increase of the capacity of the building. In this connection I still believe that any addition should be large enough to accomodate grades seven and eight into a six year secondary school unit. This is the trend of the times for towns too small to support a Junior High School.
CONCLUSION
In closing may I say that I consider this another highly successful year for which my associates the teachers, supervisors and the school committee are jointly responsible. For the successful cooperation all have given me I am duly grateful.
Respectfully submitted,
STEPHEN G. BEAN,
Superintendent of Schools.
Wilmington, Mass. January 7, 1938.
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REPORT OF THE HEADMASTER TEWKSBURY HIGH SCHOOL January 1938
Tewksbury High School began its third year in September 1937 with a record enrollment of 235 students divided as follows:
Freshmen
73
Sophomores
59
Juniors
55
Seniors
42
Post Graduates
6
235
This represented an increase of 21 students over the figures for September 1937 when 214 students reported for registration.
The division of students according to the courses for which they registered was as follows:
College
55 Teacher's College 5
Nurse's Training
8
Home Economics 12
Manual Training 18
Commercial 97
General 40
It is apparent from the above figures that nearly half of the stu- dents in the school have as an objective preparation for business, while about one quarter of them intend to enter a higher institution upon completion of their high school work.
The ten per cent increase in the enrollment of the school made necessary the addition of another teacher to the faculty and Mr. Law- rence McGowan of Fairhaven was selected from a large number of ap- plicants. Mr. McGowan is a graduate of the Fairhaven High School, Tilton Academy, and the University of New Hampshire. He received the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education from the University- and made an excellent record in extra-curricular activities, including track, football, baseball, and R. O. T. C. Mr. McGowan teaches Citizen- ship, United States History, General Science and General Mathematics, and is continuing the Physical Education work started by Mr. Grant Longley. He is also coach of baseball and assistant coach of football.
Mr. Frank Maria of Lowell was elected to fill the English teaching position left vacant by the resignation of Mr. Edward Manning last year. Mr. Maria is a graduate of the Lowell High School and Boston University and at both institutions established a reputation for high
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scholastic proficiency as well as having a successful career in extra- curricular activities. In addition to teaching English to the three up- per classes, Mr. Maria is coach of boy's basketball.
Miss M. Marion Adams, Supervisor of Music, tendered her resig- nation in December 1937 so that she might assume the position of Supervisor of Music in the Chelmsford schools. As yet no successor to her position has been named.
On June 28, 1937 the High School held its second Annual Com- mencement exercises and twenty-seven young graduates attired in the traditional caps and gowns were awarded their diplomas. A complete list of the 1937 graduates follows:
Mason Alexander
Arthur Urquhart
Robert Briggs
Earl Brown
Rosemarie Bonugli
Aubrey Cameron
Francis Crosby
Philip Caine
Gilbert French
Mary Gillissen
Alberta Currier
Eileen Sawyer
John Seekins Leonard Glen
Nancy Goodwin
Nick Liegakos
Josephine Stanikas
Mary Mackey
James Manley
Stanley Lucas
James Mavrogianis
Catherine Meloy
Loretta Manley
Stuart Mitchell
James Roper
Robert Milk
Marion Wiley
SPECIAL HONORS
Valedictory, Stanley Lucas Salutatory, James Mavrogianis
The May L. Larrabee Scholarship Awards STANLEY LUCAS, NANCY GOODWIN
The Melvin Rogers Athletic Medals MASON ALEXANDER, JAMES MANLEY
"The Washington and Franklin History Medal RITA COTE
The Parent-Teacher's Association Citizenship Award GILBERT FRENCH
The Faculty Award for School Leadership AUDREY CAMERON
The Balfour Award for Loyalty, Scholarship, and Achievement NANCY GOODWIN
Mr. Alfred R. Mack, State Supervisor of Secondary Education was the Guest Speaker, and Mrs. May L. Larrabee, Chairman of the School Board presented the diplomas.
The development of scholastic proficiency is the primary objective
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of any school and so it has been a source of satisfaction to the Head- master and Faculty that the class work of the student body has been uniformly good. It was with this goal in mind that the school requires a student to secure 80 credit points for a diploma, and maintains 70% as a passing grade in all subjects. To insure careful review work, Mid-Year and Final examinations are conducted and the student's rcord on these examinations has an important bearing on the final term grade.
Every six weeks the Honor Roll is compiled, and during the past school year fifteen students were consistently eligible for High Honors with marks averaging over 90%, and approximately fifty more eligible for the regular Honor Roll. Space will not permit the listing of the entire Honor Roll but the following list includes those students who were consistent members of the High Honor group during 1936-1937:
Nancy Goodwin
Stanley Lucas
James Mavrogianis
Thomas Berube
Rita Cote
Natalie Patten
Thornton Gay
Helen Gelinas
Rita Sullivan
William Noll
Warren Osterman
Tessie Liegakos
Meyer Abrams
Mary Casey
Marion Rogers
In June of 1937 Tewksbury High School was awarded for the second year the Class A certificate issued by the State Department of Edu- cation. Mr. Alfred Mack, head of the department which awards the certificates, visited the school on two occasions other than for the Graduation exercises, and he expressed particular satisfaction over the attitude of the students toward their work and the cooperative rela- tionship between the teachers and their classes.
In a review of the period since the last report special mention should be made of some of the outstanding achievements in the varied phases of school activity:
The school paper, the Hi-Lights, is being published regularly under the direction of Miss Maguire, and unlike most school literary enter- prises continues to show a profit.
The boys in the Manual Training department directed by Mr. Mc- Sheehy have constructed a partition dividing the long Manual Training room into two parts, one for shop work and the other for Mechanical Drawing, and have built a number of benches which may be used for the two phases of this department's work.
Miss Dutton, the Home Economics teacher has continued the Boys Cooking class which has proved so successful since its inception the first year of the school.
The Behave Yourself class in manners and social customs which
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was begun last year has been continued for the benefit of the freshman class, and a special Advanced class in Problems of Social Behaviour has been conducted for the upperclassmen.
For the third year a class in Highway Safety was conducted by the school during activities period and forty students took advantage of this work. The class which is sponsored by the Registry of Motor Ve- hicles and the Massachusetts Safety Council has as its objectives the training of careful and considerate drivers, and preparation for the motor vehicle license test.
Tewksbury High School students had a chance to gain radio dram- atic experience when during the spring of 1937 four fifteen-minute plays were broadcast over radio station WLLH in Lowell. This activity was planned so that the maximum number of students could participate, and before the program was finished nearly half of the members of the student body had had an opportunity before the microphone.
The Senior Play for 1937, "She Stoops to Conquer" was produced under the direction of Miss Phillips, and though the presentation of this famous classical play was an ambitious undertaking for a high school group the cast and its director carried it through to a complete success.
The Friday afternoon Dancing Classes are being directed again this year by Miss Naomi Gilooly of Lowell and are providing nearly a hun- dred students with instruction in this social activity. Frequent school dances have been held with the formal Senior-Junior Prom and the Halloween Costume Ball the most outstanding events.
Under the capable direction of Miss Rosatto, the Art Supervisor, seventeen life-size decorative panels were painted by the art class for the ornamentation of the school lunch room. These panels depicting the dress styles of different nationalities and periods were the sub- ject of a special feature article in the Lowell Leader after they had been viewed by a reporter who visited the school. In addition to the panels the art students carried their decorative scheme to completion by making appropriate chair backs for the Faculty table and window curtains.
Each of the Seniors in the Commercial Department has been given the assignment of Office Assistant for a week, during which time he or she gained practical experience in typing, filing, and other features of school office work. This department under the direction of Miss Chandler has been of inimense value to the administration of the school by mimeographing all programs, examinations, forms and the issues of the school paper.
Assembly programs were held at frequent intervals throughout
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the year and provided varied forms of entertainment and instruction. The outstanding speakers of the year were Dr. Tehyi Hsieh, famous Chinese diplomat, economist, and author, and Mr. L. R. Talbot of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, well known authority on bird con- servation.
The addition of Miss Edith Haines, R. N. to the Faculty as School Nurse has been of great value to the school in the promotion of health practices among the students. Under her direction a room on the third floor of the building has been adapted for first aid work, and equipped with a suitable cot through the generosity of the Parent-Teacher As- sociation.
Mr. Wiley has found time to do much valuable carpentry work in addition to discharging his many janitorial duties. During the summer of. 1937 he designed and completed an attractive counter for the cafe- teria, and during the year has made lockers, cabinets, bleachers, and other equipment at a great saving to the town.
Under the leadership of Miss Adams, the school has been able to do excellent work in the field of music and so it is with great regret that the Tewksbury faculty and students see her sever her connection with the town.
Mr. Dunnan has conducted research into the subject of Visual Education and during the spring of 1937 was able to procure and show many outstanding educational films to his Science classes.
The addition of Mr. Maria and Mr. McGowan to the Faculty have made possible an extension of the school's "athletics for all" policy, and Tewksbury has been able to maintain an enviable reputation in high school athletic circles in spite of its relatively small size. Under the direction of Coach Dunnan and his assistants Mr. McGowan, and Mr. Hazel the football team was able to complete the 1937 season with- out a defeat. The school owes a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Hazel who for the past three years has volunteered his services as an assist- ant coach and has been an important factor in the success of the school's teams.
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